The present invention relates to a system for forming an explosive and more particularly to a system that is portable, self-contained and is capable of mixing essentially non-explosive ingredients from separate containers or separate compartments within a container to form an explosive. The system is particularly adaptable for military or tactical applications.
Common uses for explosives in military or tactical applications are for demolition work, barrier creation, concrete breaching, concertina wire removal, etc. It often is necessary for infantry to carry explosives on their persons for such purposes. This creates a hazard for the person carrying the explosive as well as for those in the person's vicinity, because the explosive, which necessarily must be relatively sensitive to initiation in small quantity applications, may be susceptible to initiation by rifle bullet or other projectile or munition. A need therefore exists for a tactical explosive that can be carried by infantry in a non-explosive state and then rendered detonable at the desired time. This need is satisfied by the system and unit of the present invention which houses segregated non-explosive ingredients that can be readily mixed together at the intended time of usage to form a sensitive, detonable explosive.
In addition, a tactical explosive for infantry use must be capable of being transported in a backpack, must be able to be used with minimal preparation time and must be capable of use in varied weather and battle conditions. The system and unit of the present invention satisfy these requirements in that the unit can be sized to fit in a backpack; the self-contained unit readily can form an explosive within, for example, one minute; the mixing operation can be accomplished manually without any direct contact with the ingredients or the final explosive; the containers protect the ingredients from the environment; an inner container is housed within an outer container and thus the handling of separate containers is not required; the unit can be operated under water and the explosive composition itself can be designed to be flowable and waterproof thereby making it adaptable for a variety of applications.
Finally, a tactical explosive must be capable of producing sufficient energy and brisance to accomplish its intended purpose. Heretofore, a relatively powerful compound explosive has been used such as TNT (trinitrotoluene), Composition B, pressed RDX and C4. As explained more fully hereafter, the system of the present invention is capable of forming an explosive of equal or greater energy and brisance than such compound explosives but which is formed from non-detonable ingredients that can be transported safely.